Excess breath/blood alcohol (Section 56 Land Transport Act 1998)
Charge 1: Driving with excess breath/blood alcohol under section 56 of the Land Transport Act 1998
The Crown must prove each element of the offence. That is called the burden of proof. The Crown carries that burden. Also, the Crown must prove each element beyond reasonable doubt. This is called the standard of proof. It means that you must be sure that each element is proved.
| 1. | Are you sure that the Subaru vehicle with the registration plate BME133 was driven on Beach Road at about 12.30am on 30 January 2019? |
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[Note: In most cases, it will be undisputed that the defendant was driving on a road. Where there is an issue as to whether what the defendant was driving on constitutes a “road”, this is likely to be an issue which the trial judge should hear argument on and determine. In doing so, the trial judge should have recourse to the definition in s 2.] If no, find Mr Smith not guilty. If yes, go to question two. |
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| 2. | Are you sure that it was Mr Smith who was driving the Subaru vehicle with the registration plate BME133 that was stopped by Constable Allen at about 12.30am on 30 January 2019? |
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[Note: In most cases, it will be undisputed that the defendant was driving a motor vehicle. Where there is an issue as to whether what the defendant was driving constitutes a “motor vehicle”, this is likely to be an issue which the trial judge should hear argument on and determine. In doing so, the trial judge should have recourse to the definition in s 2.] If no, find Mr Smith not guilty. If yes, go to question three. |
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| 3. | Are you sure that the proportion of alcohol in Mr Smith’s breath was 480 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath [or 90 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood] at that time? |
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If no, find Mr Smith not guilty. If yes, find Mr Smith guilty. |